Container for a stack of interfolded tissue sheets

ABSTRACT

A container for a collection of interfolded tissue-sheets has a generally planar top wall, a bottom wall, side walls connecting the bottom wall with the top wall and an opening provided in at least the top wall for the removal of tissue-sheets from the container. The tissue-sheets are placed in the container with a lowermost tissue-sheet placed on the bottom wall and an uppermost tissue-sheet placed near or in contact with the top wall and adjacent to the opening in the top wall, which opening is provided with elongated projections extending from at least one edge of the opening. The projections are part of at least two sheets of material attached to the outer side of the top wall, and at least one projection of a first sheet is arranged to overlap at least one projection of an adjacent sheet in their inactive positions.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The invention pertains to a stack of interfolded tissue-sheetspacked in a container, said container having a generally planar bottomwall and a top wall and side walls connecting the bottom wall with thetop wall and an opening provided in at least one wall for the removal ofsaid tissue-sheets from the container, said stack of interfoldedtissue-sheets being placed in said container with at least the edges ofa lowermost tissue-sheet placed on the bottom wall and an uppermosttissue-sheet placed near or in contact with the top wall and adjacent tothe opening in the top wall.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Soft tissue sheets such as facial tissue sheets are commonlyoffered as a stack of tissue sheets packed in a dispensing box. Thedispensing box has an opening through which the user pulls the tissuesheets. In order to facilitate the removal of the tissue sheets from thedispensing box, the tissue sheets are interfolded, which means that thetissue sheets are folded into one-another, so that they form a chain oftissue sheets being interconnected by folded portions. In this manner,when removing the top tissue sheet from the stack of tissue sheets andpulling the tissue sheet completely through the dispensing opening inthe dispensing box, the pulled-out tissue sheet will automatically bringa portion of the next tissue sheet in the stack out through the openingthereby making it readily available for gripping and removing from thedispensing box. The praxis of interfolding tissue sheets in this manneris a convenient way of ascertaining that all of the tissue sheets can beeasily removed from the container. There are many types of interfolding,e.g. Z-folding, but neither the type of interfolding, nor the type oftissue is important to the invention.

[0003] A box of the above type, having an opening with opposedprojections is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,357 A. The projectionsdescribed in this document are not overlapping and will not giveadequate support to a presented tissue made from a thin material. Afterbeing pulled through the opening by a preceding tissue, the subsequenttissue will collapse on top of the box, making it difficult for a userto grip and withdraw it.

[0004] A further box for dispensing tissues is known from EP 0 644 130B1. This document shows an opening having a circular or othergeometrical shape, provided with adjacent and opposing projectionsextending from the sides of the opening. This box also lacks overlappingprojections, resulting in the same problem with tissues that are notself-supporting and collapses under their own weight, as describedabove.

[0005] In both the above prior art documents, the projections are partof the top wall of the box, or are provided as a pre-cut plastic filmattached to the underside of said wall.

[0006] A problem to be solved by the invention is related to the way theknown fingers are arranged or attached to the container. If the fingersare cut from a part of the container, or attached to the underside of atop wall containing the opening, the length or extension of the fingersis determined by the width of the opening. The design and/or propertiesof the fingers, being limited to a maximum length, can only be varied bymeans of thickness and/or choice of materials. If, for instance, acertain width is desired for achieving a particular property for apredetermined tissue/projection combination, the available maximumlength may require the projection to be made with a certain thickness.The thickness may in turn be so small that the projection is no longerself-supporting, or that it becomes too thin to support or grip a tissuein a presentation position.

[0007] The use of multiple opposing and overlapping projections orfingers placed on either side of a longitudinal opening is known from EPPatent Application no. 00203753.9. According to one embodiment in thisapplication, the opening is provided with a central opening wherein theprojections on either side of the central opening are angled away from aplane perpendicular to the main axis of the opening. In this way, theprojections can present a flat tissue while stretching in bothdirections away from the central opening. However, due to the sometimeslong distance between the two innermost fingers, the tissue may sag inthe middle in the region above the central opening. This problem is alsosolved by the invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The problem of attaching projections to a container in such a waythat said projections can be given any desired resilient property, whileremaining self-supporting, is solved by the container for a collectionof interfolded tissue-sheets according to the present invention.

[0009] The invention relates to a container for a collection ofinterfolded tissue-sheets, said container having a generally planar topwall, a bottom wall and four side walls connecting said bottom wall withsaid top wall. An opening provided in at least said top wall for theremoval of said tissue sheets from the container. Said collection ofinterfolded tissue sheets is placed in said container with at least apair of edges of a lowermost tissue sheet placed on said bottom wall andan uppermost tissue-sheet placed near or in contact with the top walland adjacent to the opening in the top wall. The opening is providedwith elongated projections extending from at least one edge of theopening.

[0010] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, theprojections are part of at least two sheets of material attached to thetop wall. The sheets are preferably, but not necessarily, attached tothe upper, or external, surface of the top wall. Also, the opposing oradjacent sheets are preferably, but not necessarily, identical in shape,with respect to the outline of the sheets and the number of projections.When attached to the top wall, the opposing sheets may be of identicalor reversed shape.

[0011] Each projection of a first sheet is arranged to overlap, or atleast partially overlap, a corresponding projection of an opposing or anadjacent sheet, while the projections are in their inactive positions.Each sheet can be provided with one or more projections. A singleprojection may range in size from a relatively narrow, thin projection,to an extended, relatively large wing-shaped projection having acomparatively large surface area, covering parts of both the top wall ofthe container and a part of the opening. Alternatively, a singleprojection, having a general wing-shape or similar may be replaced by anumber of adjacent projections.

[0012] The material used for said sheets and projections may be eithertransparent or opaque. A suitable material can be, for instance, plasticfilm, paper, cardboard or some other resilient material

[0013] According to a further preferred embodiment, the openingcomprises a pair of elongated edges extending substantially parallelacross the top of the container. A main axis of the opening may extendsubstantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the container. When aprojection on one sheet is overlapping a projection from an opposingsheet, then the projections of at least one pair of projections on thesame sheet are angled away from each other with respect to a planetransverse to the main axis of the opening. This plane is preferablyplaced through the centre of the opening, measured along said main axis.In an alternative preferred embodiment, each projection of at least onesuch pair of projections is placed on either side of, and is angled awayfrom, a central projection placed in or parallel to said transverseplane. In the preceding case, without a central projection, the minimumnumber of projections is two on either side of the opening, while thelatter case, including a central projection requires a minimum of threeprojections on either side.

[0014] The purpose of the above central projection is to solve theproblem of a presented tissue sheet having a sagging central section,when supported by one or more projections on either side of a centralopening between said projections. Projections being angled away fromeach other in this way will present a substantially flat tissue sheet,due to the downward force caused by the weight of the tissue. However,the stretching effect on the tissue caused by the projections may not besufficient to prevent the central section of the tissue sheet to sag.This problem is eliminated by a pair of opposed, overlapping centralprojections. The central projections may extend further across theopening than the adjacent side projections and can therefore have moreoverlap.

[0015] Alternatively, the above embodiment may have one or moreprojections on either side of the central projection, whereby the sideprojections are parallel to or placed at varying angles to the centralprojection. Combinations of such parallel and angled side projectionsare also possible.

[0016] According to a further embodiment, each of the above projectionsare made up of individual sheets of material and attached to thecontainer side-by-side along either edge of the opening. In this way,the number, angle and shape of the individual projections can be easilyvaried without requiring changes of an entire sheet.

[0017] In order to enable projections to overlap, the tip of eachprojection must extend at least past the main axis of the opening.However, the tips must not reach the opposite edge of the opening. Also,the tip of each projection must be in contact with the presented tissue,when the projections are raised to their active positions.

[0018] According to a further preferred embodiment, the opening may becircular or have a geometrical shape made up of a polygon having threeor more sides. The sides of the polygon-shaped opening are preferably,but not necessarily equilateral, that is, of equal length. Whenoverlapping a projection from an adjacent sheet, then each projection isangled with respect to at least one adjacent projection. For both thealternative openings, each projection will preferably, but notnecessarily, comprise a separate sheet of material.

[0019] For the case where the opening has a geometrical shape made up ofthree or more sides, the number of projections will preferablycorrespond to the number of sides of the opening. Although highernumbers of projection and side combinations are possible, openingshaving more than ten sides will not be practical due to the increasedcomplexity of the manufacturing process. In some cases a polygonalopening can be describes as being substantially triangular, square orpentagonal. A triangular opening may, for instance, be shaped withcut-off corners. Such an opening would thus have three major edges,provided with projections, and three minor edges, being substantiallyshorter than the major edges. The corners of a substantially triangularopening may also be rounded, with each corner having a relatively smallradius. In such cases, the number of major sides determines the numberof projections.

[0020] According to one embodiment, the main body of each individualprojection will extend from the edge of the opening at an angle to aline perpendicular to each individual corresponding side of the opening,which line passes through the centre of said side.

[0021] According to a further embodiment, the main body of eachprojection will extend from the edge of the opening parallel to, anddisplaced from, a line perpendicular to each associated side of theopening, which line passes through the centre, or the middle, of saidside.

[0022] According to a further embodiment, the main body of eachprojection will be curved and extend from the edge of the opening at anangle to or parallel to a line perpendicular to each associated side ofthe opening

[0023] For openings having a polygonal shape, each subsequent projectionwill partially overlap at least one adjacent projection, alternativelybe overlapped by a preceding projection and overlap a subsequentprojection.

[0024] For the case where the opening is circular it may be providedwith two or more sheets. According to a first alternative, eachprojection comprises a separate sheet of material. In this case eachprojection will extend into the opening at an angle to a radius of thecircle, which radius passes through the centreline of the main body ofeach projection at the point where this centreline intersects the edgeof the opening. As stated above, each subsequent projection willpartially overlap at least one adjacent projection, alternatively beoverlapped by a preceding projection and overlap a subsequentprojection. For this embodiment, the opening is preferably provided withthree or more projections. According to a second alternative, theopening circular is provided with at least two sheets, whereby eachsheet is provided with two or more projections. If two sheets are used,one projection on each sheet will partially overlap or be overlapped by,a corresponding projection on an opposing sheet. If three or more sheetsare used, a first projection at one side of the sheet is overlapped by aprojection on a preceding sheet and a last projection at the other sideof the sheet overlaps a projection on a subsequent sheet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] In the following text, the invention will be described in detailwith reference to the attached drawings. These drawings are used forillustration only and do not in any way limit the scope of theinvention. In the drawings:

[0026]FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a box according to theinvention;

[0027]FIG. 2 shows a plan view of a box provided with butterfly-shapedsheets;

[0028]FIG. 3 shows an alternative embodiment of the sheets in FIG. 2;

[0029]FIG. 4 shows a further alternative embodiment of the sheets inFIG. 2;

[0030]FIG. 5 shows an alternative embodiment of the sheets in FIG. 2provided with additional projections;

[0031]FIG. 6 shows a plan view of a box provided with a circularopening;

[0032]FIG. 7 shows an alternative embodiment of the opening in FIG. 6;

[0033]FIG. 8 shows a plan view of a box provided with a polygonalopening;

[0034]FIG. 9 shows a plan view of a box provided with a circular openingand sheets with multiple projections.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0035]FIG. 1 shows a generally rectangular paperboard dispensing box 1containing a stack of interfolded tissue-sheets (not shown). Byinterfolding, all the tissue-sheets in the stack are mechanicallyconnected to each other in a continuous, loosely connected band ofindividual tissue-sheets. The paperboard box 1 has a top wall 2, abottom wall 3, two long side walls 4, 5 and two short side walls 6, 7.The stack of tissue-sheets rests with a lower-most tissue-sheet on theinner surface of the bottom wall 3 and has a height that substantiallycorresponds to the height of the box 1, that is, to the height of theside walls 4-7. It is to be understood, that the height of the stack oftissue-sheets is to a certain degree determined by the height of thebox. The interfolded tissue-sheets are highly compressible and areusually, but not necessarily, compressed before being placed in the box,so that a sufficient amount of tissue-sheets can be accommodated in thebox. The figure also shows an uppermost tissue sheet T being held in apresentation position by a number of projections, which will bedescribed in detail below.

[0036] The box 1 is provided with an opening 10 in the top wall 2. Theopening 10 is arranged substantially centrally in the top wall 2 andextends parallel to the long side walls 4, 5. In the example of FIG. 2,the opening 10 has a substantially rectangular shape, having a widersection in its middle portion and rounded corners at its end portions.However, an opening in the shape of a circle, an oval, a straight sidedrectangle or suitable irregular shapes are contemplated within the scopeof the invention, as the exact shape of the opening is not relevant tothe invention.

[0037] Before use of the box of tissue-sheets, the opening 10 isprotected by a cover. Usually the protective cover is made of the samepaperboard material as the box itself. The cover is a section ofmaterial covering at least the opening and a number of attachedprojections, which cover comprises a section of material that can betorn away along a perforated line in the top wall 2. However otherprotective devices such as separate pieces of paper, paperboard, plasticfilm, and the like can be envisaged. Moreover, the box can be providedwith a permanently attached or removable regular lid that is opened toexpose the opening in the top wall 2 and which, optionally, can bere-closed.

[0038] The box is further provided with a pair of substantiallyidentical material sheets attached to the top surface of the top wall 2at opposing sides of the opening, as shown in FIG. 2. Each sheet S₁, S₂of material is provided with projections which extend from the top wall2, across an adjacent edge 11, 12 of the opening 10, and at least halfway across the opening 10. In this context, the term “at least half way”implies that the projections are required to extend past a longitudinalmain axis X_(M) of the opening. In the current example, the opening ispositioned centrally in the top wall 2, whereby a central longitudinalaxis X of the box coincides with the main axis X_(M) of the opening 10.FIG. 2 shows a pair of sheets S₁, S₂ each having three projections 13,14, 15; 16, 17, 18, in the shape of a pair of relatively wide,wing-shaped projections 13, 14; 16, 17 placed on either side of acentral, relatively narrow central projection 15; 18. The centralprojections are tapering towards their tips, which are rounded. Eachpair of side projections 13, 14; 16, 17 are joined by a curved, rearsection 19; 20, which makes up the portion of the sheet S₁, S₂ that isattached to the upper side of the top wall 2. On both sides of theoverlapping central projections 15, 18, between them and the adjacentside projections, there are gaps allowing a user to extract a firsttissue sheet after removing the cover. The function of the opposing sideprojections 13, 16 and 14, 17 respectively, is to support a tissue sheetin its presentation position and preventing it from falling back intothe box. The function of the opposing central projections 15 and 18respectively, is to support a central portion of a presented tissue,preventing said central portion from sagging or collapsing. FIG. 1 showsthe sheets S₁, S₂ with their respective projections in the raised,active dispensing position.

[0039] As can be seen from FIG. 2, showing the projections in theirflat, inactive positions, each pair of opposing projections overlap to acertain degree. The properties of the material sheet and amount ofoverlap is determined by both the properties of the tissue sheet and thefunction of the respective projection. A thicker, heavier tissue sheetwill require a thicker or stiffer material in the material sheets S₁, S₂and relatively less overlap for the projections. A thin and flimsytissue sheet, on the other hand, will require thinner or more flexiblematerial sheets S₁, S₂ and relatively more overlap. Also, in order toprovide sufficient support for the central portion of the tissue, thecentral projections 15, 18 will have a larger overlap than the sideprojections 13, 16 and 14, 17. When in their upwardly flexed, activepositions the tips of the projections must be in contact with thepresented tissue sheet. The length, and hence the overlap, of the pairsof opposing projections must therefore be chosen accordingly.

[0040] The properties of the material sheets S₁, S₂ can also becontrolled by their attachment to the top wall 2. As the material sheetsS₁, S₂ are attached to the upper surface of the top wall 2 at one ormore positions spaced from the edge of the opening, the sheets will flexfrom a line or point of attachment to the tips of their associatedprojections. According to one embodiment the sheets S₁, S₂ have beenattached with a straight line or band of adhesive, whereby the sheetsS₁, S₂ will flex along a line parallel to the line of adhesive. Thisarrangement can be used for the embodiment of FIG. 2.

[0041] According to a further embodiment the sheets have been attachedwith adhesive applied at a number of points, whereby the sheets willflex along a straight line connecting a pair of such points locatedclosest to the main axis of the opening. This arrangement is used forthe embodiment shown in FIG. 3. This figure shows a pair of materialsheets S₃, S₄, provided with corresponding opposed and overlapping sideprojections 23, 24; 26, 27 and central projections 25; 28. The materialsheets S₃, S₄ are attached to the top wall 2 of a box on either side ofan opening 10, as described in connection with FIG. 2. However, insteadof a curved section connecting the side projections on each sheet, eachrear section is provided with two further, rear projections 21, 22;29,30. The side projections 23, 24; 26, 27 and the rear projections 21,22; 29,30 are all angled away from a transverse axis Y coinciding withthe main axis Y_(M) of the central projections 25; 28, giving thematerial sheets S₃, S₄ a general butterfly shape.

[0042] Attaching the material sheets S₃, S₄ shown in FIG. 3 by means ofa straight line of adhesive is possible, but may not be practical. Ifapplied onto the top wall 2 the adhesive may not be entirely covered bythe rear projections, and if applied to the rear projections 21, 22;29,30, beads of surplus adhesive may form at the edges of saidprojections. In this case, a preferred solution is to attach thematerial sheets S₃, S₄ by applying adhesive at a number of discretepoints on either the top wall or the rear projections. When theprojections are raised upwards to their active positions, the sheet willflex parallel a straight line connecting the two discrete attachmentpoints located closest to the main axis X_(M) of the opening 10.Depending on the material used in the sheets S₃, S₄ and the shape of thesheet, other flexing lines can occur. The flexing line can be influencedby the depth of the cut-out notches between the rear projections andtheir adjacent side projection. If the notches are sufficiently deepand/or the material of the sheet S₃, S₄ sufficiently thin, the sheetsmay flex along a line connecting the inner sections of said notches.Also, a similar effect may occur along a line connecting the innersections of the notches between the rear projection and an adjacent sideprojection, with the inner sections of the notches between said sideprojection and the central projection. Such a flexing line will giveeach of the side projections a main axis angled away from the axis Y_(M)of the central projection when raised to their active positions. Theseoutwardly angled main axes, in combination with a twisting movement ofthe side projections as they are raised upwards, will cause the opposedpairs of side projections to impart a stretching force to the presentedtissue sheet.

[0043] By selecting an appropriate material and thickness for the sheetS₃, S₄ and combining this with a suitable shape of the wing shapedprojections, it is thus possible to impart any of the above supportingand/or stretching functions to the tissue sheet to be presented.

[0044] According to a further embodiment, the sheets S₁, S₂ shown inFIG. 2 can be attached using any of the above methods, whereby anembossed line (not shown) on said sheets in vicinity of the edges 11, 12of the opening 10 is used to control where flexing is to occur. By usingan embossed line it is possible to make each projection flex in anypredetermined direction. In the case of FIG. 2, it would be possible touse a combination of embossed lines and suitable attachment points tomake the side projections flex at an angle away from the main axis Y_(M)of the central projection. This would give the embodiment of FIG. 2 thesame tissue-stretching properties as described in connection with theembodiment of FIG. 3.

[0045]FIG. 4 shows an alternative embodiment of that shown in FIG. 3. Inthis embodiment, the material sheets S₃, S₄ are provided withsubstantially the same side projections 23, 24; 26, 27 and rearprojections 21, 22; 29, 30, but have modified central projections 31;32. Said central projections 31; 32 are provided with a narrow portion33 between the base and the tip, combined with a split, or forked, tip34. In some cases, a wider tip section is required to give the centralportion of a presented tissue sheet sufficient support. The split tip 34shown in FIG. 4 supports the tissue at two points, rather than along astraight line. The resulting point contact between the spaced, splittips of the opposed central projections 31; 32 will give additionalsupport for a tissue in a presentation position, especially for thinnerkinds of tissue sheets. When widening the tip section, a taperingprojection of the type shown in FIG. 3 may be to stiff to function asintended. In order to maintain a predetermined stiffness in combinationwith a widened tip, each projection 31; 32 is provided with a narrowsection 33 between tip and base. Preferably, the narrowest part of saidsection is positioned closer to the base than to the tip. In thisapplication, the term ‘base’ is defined as a straight line between theinner ends of a pair of cut-out notches, or a such a cut-out notch andan estimated inner end of a cut-out notch, on either side of aprojection.

[0046]FIG. 5 shows a further alternative embodiment of the materialsheets described in connection with FIG. 2. According to thisembodiment, each of the relatively large wing-shaped side projectionsshown in FIG. 2 have been replaced by a pair of individual projections35, 36; 37, 38; 40, 41; 42,43 placed on either side of a centralprojection 39; 44. In their inactive positions, the overlapping pairs ofopposing projections extend across a major part of the width of theopening 10 from one edge 11 and 12 respectively, towards but notreaching the opposite edge 12 and 11 respectively. As in the aboveembodiment of FIG. 2, the length of the projections is determined by thedesired properties of the projections, such as stiffness, and the typeof tissue sheet to be supported. Also, the side projections 35, 36; 37,38; 40, 41; 42,43 each have a main axis extending at an angle α to themain axis Y_(M) of the central projections. In this particularembodiment, the angle of each successive projection 35, 36; 37, 38; 40,41; 42,43 increases in a direction away from the central projections 39;44. The projections are all slightly tapering towards their tips, whichare rounded.

[0047] Although the above preferred embodiment shows increasing anglesfor each successive projection it is of course possible to maintain aconstant angle α for all projections, or to vary the respective anglesof each projection.

[0048] As in the case of FIG. 2, each outer pair of side projections 35,38 and 40, 43 respectively, are joined by a curved, rear section 45, 46,which makes up the portion of each sheet S₅, S₆ that is attached to thetop wall 2. In the current example the curvature of the curved rearsection 45, 46 is considerably greater than that of FIG. 2, making itmore suitable for attachment by means of a straight line of adhesive.The curved rear section of the material sheets S₅ and S₆ will appear tohave a projection at either end, which is caused by the cut-out notchesremoved to form the added side projections. However, the width of therear sections shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 are substantially the same. Due tothe relatively small width of the projections compared to the width ofthe rear section in the vicinity of the line of attachment, eachprojection will flex at a line through each individual base.

[0049] According to a further embodiment (not shown), each of the aboveprojections are made up of individual sheets of material and attached tothe container side-by-side along either edge of the opening. In thisway, the number, angle, length and shape of the individual projectionscan be easily varied without requiring changes of an entire sheet.

[0050]FIG. 6 shows an embodiment with a circular opening 50 placed inthe top wall 2 of the box. In the example, the opening 50 is shownplaced at a central position on the top wall with respect to thelongitudinal and transverse axes X; Y of the box. It may, however beplaced at any position on the top wall, provided that the entire openingis located above the stack of tissues, and that there is sufficientspace between the opening and the edge for the individual projectionsdescribed below.

[0051] According to this embodiment, the opening 50 is provided withfour individual projections, wherein each projection has a rear section51, 52, 53, 54 and a front section or tip 55, 56, 57, 58. Theprojections are made as separate sheets of material, and are attached tothe upper side of the top wall 2 of the box at their rear sections 51,52, 53, 54. In this embodiment, each rear section has its main extensionin a direction substantially parallel to a tangent to the edge of theopening at the point where the main axis of each projection crosses theedge of said opening 50. The exact shape of the rear sections is notrelevant to the invention, but it should have a sufficiently largesurface area to allow application of a line, or a number of points ofadhesive.

[0052] In their inactive, flat positions the tips 55, 56, 57, 58 extendacross the opening a predetermined distance, but without crossing theedge of the opening again. Each tip is partially overlapped by apreceding tip, while partially overlapping a subsequent tip. This isachieved by arranging each subsequent main axis X₁, X₂, X₃, X₄ of therespective projections at right angles to the main axis of the nextprojection, i.e. at an angle β of 90° between adjacent axes. In thisembodiment, the edges of the tip section of the projections aresubstantially parallel, with a generally rounded tip. However, thelength and width of the projections may be varied within the abovelimitations, provided that a gap G is arranged between the projectionsat the centre of the opening, allowing a user to withdraw a first tissuesheet. When a first tissue sheet is withdrawn, the projections areraised upwards and the subsequent tissue will be held in a presentationposition by a gripping force between the interlocking projections.

[0053] Although the above example discloses an embodiment with fourprojections, other alternatives are also possible. The above examplewill also work for three, five and six projections, having eachsubsequent main axis arranged at angles β of 120°, 72° and 60°respectively.

[0054] According to a further embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, theprojections as described in connection with FIG. 6 may have main axeswith a predetermined curvature. Each of the curved projections 61, 62,63, 64 have main axes C₁, C₂, C₃, C₄ with a curvature and a width thatdecreases towards the tip. However, the above limitations still apply,and the angle β between two tangents at two identical positions on apair of adjacent main axes would still be 90°. It is of course possibleto use projections having a constant curvature or width, or acombination of varying and constant values thereof.

[0055] According to a further embodiment, shown in FIG. 8, the openingitself may be an equilateral polygon having the same number of edges andprojections. Hence a square opening would have four projections, asdescribed in connection with FIG. 6 above. The embodiment shown in FIG.8 discloses a pentagonal opening 70 with one projection 71, 72, 73, 74,75 arranged at each side thereof. As described in connection with FIG.7, the projections have curved main axes, wherein both the curvature andtaper is reduced towards the tips.

[0056]FIG. 9 shows a further embodiment, wherein a circular opening 80is provided with a number of material sheets with multiple projectionsattached to the top wall 2. According to this embodiment, the openinghas four individual material sheets, each having two projections 81, 82;83, 84; 85, 86; 87, 88. Similar to the embodiment of FIG. 6, a firstprojection 81, 83, 85, 87 on each sheet overlaps a projection on asubsequent sheet, while a second projection 82, 84, 86, 88 is overlappedby a projection on a preceding sheet.

[0057] As in the previous embodiments, a rear section 89, 90, 91, 92 ofeach sheet extends a distance out from the opening 80 to allow it to beattached to the upper surface of the top wall 2 by means of an adhesive.Because adjacent rear sections overlap in this embodiment, it isimportant to apply lines or points of adhesive so that adjacent materialsheets do not prevent each other from flexing when the projections areraised to their active positions.

1. A container for a collection of interfolded tissue-sheets has agenerally planar top wall, a bottom wall, side walls connecting saidbottom wall with said top wall, and an opening provided in at least saidtop wall for the removal of said tissue-sheets from the container, saidcollection of interfolded tissue-sheets being placed in said containerwith at least a pair of edges of a lowermost tissue-sheet placed on saidbottom wall and an uppermost tissue-sheet placed near or in contact withthe top wall and adjacent to the opening in the top wall, said openingbeing provided with elongated projections extending from at least oneedge of the opening, wherein the projections are part of at least twosheets of material attached to the outer side of the top wall, and atleast one projection of a first sheet is arranged to overlap at leastone projection of an adjacent sheet in their inactive positions.
 2. Thecontainer according to claim 1, wherein each sheet of material issubstantially identical.
 3. The container according to claim 1, whereina pair of opposing sheets is substantially identical and reversed. 4.The container according to claim 1, wherein the opening has ageometrical shape in the form of a substantially equilateral polygon. 5.The container according to claim 4, wherein the polygon is made up ofthree or more sides.
 6. The container according to claim 4, wherein eachprojection comprises a separate sheet of material.
 7. The containeraccording to claim 6, wherein the number of projections correspond tothe number of sides of the opening.
 8. The container according to claim1, wherein the opening is circular.
 9. The container according to claim8, wherein the opening is provided with two or more sheets of material.10. The container according to claim 9, wherein each sheet is providedwith two or more projections.
 11. The container according to claim 8,wherein each projection comprises a separate sheet of material.
 12. Thecontainer according to claim 11, wherein the opening is provided withthree or more projections.
 13. The container according to claim 1,wherein the opening has two opposing sides extending substantially inthe direction of a longitudinal axis of the top wall.
 14. The containeraccording to claim 13, wherein each sheet is provided with two or moreprojections.
 15. The container according to claim 14, wherein each sheethas a first pair of projections positioned angled away from each other,relative to a plane through the centre of and at right angles to alongitudinal axis of the opening.
 16. The container according to claim15, wherein each sheet has a central projection positioned between saidfirst pair of projections and at right angles to a longitudinal axis ofthe opening.
 17. The container according to claim 16, wherein each sheethas at least one further pair of opposing and overlapping projectionsarranged on either side of said first pair of projections.